Erdogan hosts Iraqi PM amid move to deepen strategic ties

The Iraqi prime minister says the talks will focus on investment, water resources, regional security, and major infrastructure projects   

News Desk - The Cradle 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi with an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on 28 July, the first official visit to Turkiye by the Iraqi premier since he assumed office in May.

Zaidi said on social media that he would raise investment, water resources, regional security, and major infrastructure projects with his Turkish hosts, and that the trip came at Erdogan's invitation with the aim “to further develop the political and economic relations between the two countries.”

“History, geography, culture, shared interests, and everything bring us together with Türkiye,” the Iraqi prime minister wrote.

He added that the discussions would center on investment, water, the Development Road transport project, and steps to shore up regional stability.

Zaidi said the two governments would additionally move to open “a number of economic and security dossiers, in a way that contributes to achieving mutual benefits for both friendly peoples.”

The Turkish Presidency's Communications Directorate confirmed the visit on 27 July, listing security, trade, energy, transportation, and water management as the files on the table, alongside an exchange of views on regional and global developments.

Several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation across a range of fields are expected to be signed during the visit.

Erdogan’s April 2024 visit to Baghdad produced 26 agreements and MoUs, including a strategic framework MoU and an agreement on the Development Road project.
Valued at $17 billion, the project is designed to make Iraq a major transit corridor for goods, linking the Persian Gulf to Europe through Turkiye. 

The route forms part of a wider turn toward overland trade across West Asia, built to move goods without exposure to the maritime chokepoints at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, and Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Escalations following the US-Israeli war on Iran, the spillover into the Gulf states, and the persistent threat of chokepoint closures have exposed the fragility of those routes, where even partial disruption carries global consequences.